


Strand-Cast

by sunryder



Series: Evil Author Day [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Protective CC-2224 | Cody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29475945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunryder/pseuds/sunryder
Summary: “My father had a genetic quirk that made it so he’d never sire a child. Even with artificial insemination, bioengineering, and outright cloning, he would not be blessed by the gods.” Like the shiniest of Commanders that Cody had only seen in the safety of the temple, Obi-Wan was stuttering through the words. “So, they commissioned someone whose genetics would make up for the deficiency.”“A clone to father the child?”“No, a strand-cast to mother it.”
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Evil Author Day [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165043
Comments: 42
Kudos: 341





	Strand-Cast

**Author's Note:**

> Done for 'Evil Author Day', which is an annual posting of in-process stuff just for funsies. I think JillyJames explains it best: "Why is it evil? Well, there are no promises attached to this. I may never get back to it. There may never be more than what you see here. Or I may finish it next week. It’s read at your own risk. Seriously."
> 
> Everyone has their own criteria for choosing what to post. For me, I wanted to post some stuff that I don't think I'll ever finish but I love the ideas too much not to share.

Cody hated meetings with the Senators who sat on the War Council. He doubted any of them had once held a blaster in their hands let alone commanded troops. Yet, they thought they knew enough to lecture the Jedi and _Vod_ on how to make war. 

“Kenobi is closest. Why can he not go to Arkadia?”

As if proximity was the best determiner of assignments. Master Windu tried to explain to the Senator _again_ that the intel about Grievous making move on Arkadia was shaky at best. And if it was true, shoving Grievous out of the core didn’t require the skill of a High General. 

Frankly, Cody was surprised that General Windu was wasting everyone’s time with arguing. Every core planet considered themselves too important to endure the attention of anyone less than a High General, and Cody’s general was the only one who wasn’t currently tangled in a front. The Arkadians would have General Kenobi, no matter the logic of General Windu’s argument.

Obi-Wan knew that. That was why The Negotiator hadn’t made any arguments of his own, despite how much he didn’t want to defend Arkadia. (Obi-Wan’s disagreement was never on his face: it was in the line of his back. It was difficult to see behind the robes, but Cody had made a thorough study of the man’s hidden moods.)

Cody thought they’d be stuck there for a while yet, Master Windu hoping to out-stubborn the Senators who ought to be told no more often for their own health. But then there was a ripple in the back of Obi-Wan’s robes that only happened when he was steeling his shoulders for something unpleasant. 

“The 212th and I will go to Arkadia.”

Master Windu grumbled a goodbye and snapped shut every connection but the one with General Kenobi. On opposite ends of the galaxy, Cody and Ponds both stiffened. “Obi-Wan--”

“The only reason a _droid_ army would attack a planet of bioengineers is for information on the _Vod_. They have tried and failed multiple times to get information from Kamino, so Arkadia is their next best option.”

“I agree, but you cannot be there.” 

Obi-Wan... did not disagree. However, that didn’t change the circumstances.

Master Windu sighed. “If Plo and the 104th cannot be untangled in the next two days, I’ll join you myself and handle the Arkadians before the end of the week.” 

“Mace—”

“No. Ponds can handle our front. If he needs a Jedi, Depa will be on standby.” General Windu moved on before Obi-Wan could even try to mount an objection. “Commander Cody.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Under no circumstances is Obi-Wan to set foot on that planet. None. I don’t care if Grievous turns up and starts slaughtering people. You keep him off that planet.”

“Understood, General.”

General Windu snapped the communication closed before Obi-Wan could object. “He didn’t mean that, Cody.” Obi-Wan didn’t need Cody’s helmet off to know his eyebrow went up. “Truly, he didn’t. It is not in my personal best interests to set foot on Arkadia, true, but I would never put my own interests over the chance to stop Grievous.”

Cody commed the bridge to set course for Arkadia, then slipped off his bucket and set it over the comm array.

“It is an unnecessary precaution. Mace was fretting.”

Cody didn’t think Master Windu knew how to fret. Instead, Cody sat down on one of the chairs and settled his hands over his stomach plating. Like the greenest of shinies, Obi-Wan didn’t respond well when someone crossed their arms at him. 

“Really, Cody, there’s nothing to discuss.”

The best way to keep Obi-Wan from slithering his way out of a discussion he didn’t want to have was stating facts. Not even Kenobi could argue with facts. 

“General, you trust a very small number of your own people to look after the _Vod’s_ best interests. You think the Separatists are going to Arkadia looking for bioengineering information they can use against us, yet you’re going to allow someone else to do the research.”

“Mace is not incompetent, you know.”

“I do. And I know General Windu just gave the highest-ranking Commander in the Fleet orders to keep you off that planet, no matter the potential loss of life. And an order to me means an order to every clone in the GAR is to give their life to keep you off Arkadia?”

“That’s overstating things.”

“No, it’s not. May I ask why he doesn’t want you down there?” Obi-Wan mouthed on words that wouldn’t come. Before that ever-so-clever brain of his could catch up, Cody said, “Please.”

There was no recovering from that.

The only reason Cody could think of for keeping his General from a planet was something personal from his Commander days. Cody had expected Obi-Wan to strip off his cloak and sprawl back in the spare chair like he did for stories he considered embarrassing. Or perhaps Obi-Wan would urge Cody back to his room for a drink like he did with stories where he seemed too human. 

In all their time together, Cody had never been confronted with a story that made Obi-Wan bury his hands in the sleeves of his cloak. Worse still, Obi-Wan put his elbows on his knees and refused to look Cody in the eye.

“What can you tell me about my home planet, Commander?”

“Stewjon.” Cody answered and mentally sped through all the research he’d done about the people and the planet when Obi-Wan became his general. “It is part of the Stewjoni Complex, a group of highly terraformed agricultural worlds that are maintained with weather-control satellites. The complex is the main source of food for every industrialized Core world. A batallion has been permanently stationed around the Stewjoni Complex since the start of the war. Would you like me to keep going?”

“I suppose it wouldn’t be fair to sit here and make you keep listing details.”

“We have several hours before we get to Arkadia. I’d get there eventually.”

Obi-Wan snorted. “My – father is not quite the term, but close enough – is one of Stewjon’s preeminent environmental engineers. I ought to mention that the Stewjoni are a profoundly religious people. Not surprisingly, their gods revolve around agriculture, inspiration, and fertility.” Cody didn’t push. Obi-Wan would ramble himself there eventually.

“Imagine the conflict. Their lead environmental engineer, one of their most prized citizens who they _required_ for the continued operation of their civilization couldn’t produce a child. A man so shunned by the gods could not be left in charge of their environment. But there was no one else they trusted so much to so the job.”

Obi-Wan threaded his sleeve through his fingers. “They had no religious objections to scientific interference in their planet’s biology, so they could have no objections to interference in their own.”

“While I usually know exactly what you’re trying to imply…”

“My father had a genetic quirk that made it so he’d never sire a child. Even with artificial insemination, bioengineering, and outright cloning, he would not be blessed by the gods.” Like the shiniest of Commanders that Cody had only seen in the safety of the temple, Obi-Wan was stuttering through the words. “So, they commissioned someone whose genetics would make up for the deficiency.”

“A clone to father the child?”

“No, a strand-cast to mother it.” Cody was too stunned to respond and ended up being quiet for too long. “To be specific, my mother was grown in the Cytocaves of Nora, in their amniotic pools.”

“That’s why you’re beautiful.” Obi jumped, and Cody moved right along before Obi-Wan could panic any more than he already was. (Though, it really did explain him, because no face like Obi-Wan’s could be naturally occurring. Even among the clones who’d never have a thing to do with it, Nora’s Cytocaves were known for producing only the beautiful.)

“I thought genetically engineered people were supposed to be cut off from the force?”

“It is rare, but amongst force users it is not unheard of. However, that is information we keep to ourselves.” Cody didn’t even want to think about what the Longnecks would do if they knew they could make Jedi.

“That’s why General Windu wants you to stay off Arkadia. They’re bioengineers.”

“Worse: they’re _elitist_ bioengineers. A curious scientist plus a stray DNA sample and they would recognize the Nora biomarkers.”

Obi-Wan didn’t need to explain the rest. The galaxy’s bioengineers and cloners didn’t need to know that force sensitivity could be produced in a lab, and they didn’t need to know Cody’s general was their prime sample.

@@@@@

“Cody?”

“The jedi aren’t going to be able to get us free.”

Gregor didn’t scoff at Cody for believing they’d ever be citizens. He’d done it enough through the war and nobody wanted to square off against Cody when he had that tone of voice.

The entire _Vod’s_ Plan A to someday be treated like people and not meat clankers rested on the shoulders of the Senate, hoping that after the _Vod_ won the war they’d get citizenship as a reward. Plan B was the Jedi seizing the moment of victory and forcing things through. 

Cody had embraced Plan B after the first time he spoke with Kenobi and never once, no matter the shit other Jedi got up to, had wavered in his belief.

“Is the general dead?” Boil asked. “Or, are they kicking him out with Skywalker for lying? Does that mean we all get to move with them to Naboo?”

“There’s been chatter about a Separatist attack. We’re being routed to Arkadia.” 

The 212th's entire command crew looked to Helix. “Arkadians are bioengineers who’d get along perfectly with the longnecks. Except for selective breeding, they leave their own people alone, but they have no problem modifying all their ‘subservient species.’ Are the Separatists going there for information about us?”

“That’s what the general thinks.”

“So now we trust his opinion about the mission but not to fight for us when the war is over?”

“No, we still trust him to do that.” Cody paused. 

“Vod? Do you want us to call Rex?”

“Not yet. We’re going to have to do some research while we’re on Arkadia.”

“That’s the mission?”

“No, they think the Separatists are staging an attack and we’re the only group not tied to a front. General Windu doesn’t think it’s coming, but even if it does, we have something more important to look into.

“Do you want us to look into our bioengineering?” Helix asked. “To find out more about out faster aging, loyalty, and whatnot?”

“No.” Cody paused again.

“What else is there?” Gregor asked.

“Isn’t that enough?” Waxer poked.

“We need to find out what we’ve been engineered to be versus what we’ve been trained to be.”

The command crew stilled. “Cody, what happened?”

“We are going to Arkadia and I have been given explicit orders by General Windu not to let General Kenobi on the planet. Either the 212th will be replaced by the 104th within days, or General Windu himself will join us so our general never has to set foot on Arkadia.”

“Did the general blow something up on Arkadia when he was a Commander?” Longshot laughed, but when Cody didn’t even flinch a smile, they all froze.

“You cannot share this information.”

“Cody,” Gregor spoke for them all, “your decision to change the plan will be enough. We don’t need the particulars. We want them, but you give us orders _vod_ , we’ll follow them.”

“The General’s mother was a strand-cast.”

They all swore. “Bioengineering, cloning, that’s supposed to keep someone from being able to access the force. Them, their children, their whole genetic code is supposed to be… tainted. According to all accepted knowledge, Obi-Wan should be force blind. Especially since the strand-cast was his mother.”

“Which means they’d dissect him to figure out he could be both engineered and a Jedi?” Waxer asked.

“No they wouldn’t.” The blood was gone from Helix’s face. “You need more material to work with first.”

“What does that—” Wooley tried to ask.

“They’d breed him.” Helix spat out. “Or clone him and use the clone for parts.”

“Why’d this make you snap, brother?” Gregor asked.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi is the High General of the 7th Sky Corp. He’s one of the most well-known and respected people in the galaxy. But General Windu is worried that a core world, a stone’s throw from the Jedi Temple, a world that asked for our general by name, would take him apart to study the pieces. And the Jedi wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”

“If they can’t protect Kenobi…”

“They’re not going to be able to protect us. So, I want new plans. All the ones you've been thinking about in the background and didn’t want to tell me. And while we’re on a bioengineering world, find out what else is lurking in our genetic code to keep us in line. I don’t want a perfect plan destroyed by something in our blood.”

They all agreed. Helix stopped as they all headed out and asked the most important question of all/ “We’re going to take the general with us when we go, right?”

“Whether he wants to or not.”


End file.
